7-Day Emergency Dispatch · (414) 279-5510
Licensed & Insured ~30–45 min ETA, metro-wide 4.3 (373 reviews)
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Winch-Out & Recovery · St. Francis, Milwaukee County

Stuck in a ditch in St. Francis? We pull you free.

Slid off the shoulder, buried in mud, or stuck in a snowbank — MKE Towing & Recovery's winch-out crew pulls your vehicle free with a recovery winch, not a drag. Upfront price before we hook up, ~20-min typical arrival across St. Francis.

We come to you 4.3 · 373 reviews Upfront price, no surprises Licensed & Insured

St. Francis winch-outmost run $110–$200
Recovery winch, snatch block & rated straps
~20 min typical arrival in St. Francis
Stuck but undamaged? You likely drive away

Exact price quoted on the call — before any truck rolls. It moves with how deep you're stuck, the terrain, and the pull.

Stuck in a ditch, mud, or snow in St. Francis? A winch-out is when we pull your vehicle free with a recovery winch instead of towing it. MKE Towing & Recovery dispatches a recovery truck with a ~20-minute typical arrival and an upfront price quoted before we hook up — mud and snow pulls start at $110, ditch recoveries at $150, and most winch-outs run $110–$200. Stuck but undamaged? You likely drive away. Call (414) 279-5510.

  • Licensed & insuredUSDOT 4272551 · MC 1659521
  • 4.3 ★ rating373 Google reviews
  • ~20-min arrivaltypical in St. Francis
  • Family-run since 2019local, not a call center
  • Upfront flat pricingno surprise after-hours fees
  • 5-truck fleet3 flatbeds · 2 wreckers

Local to St. Francis

We know where St. Francis ends up stuck.

Here's how winch-out actually runs in St. Francis, Milwaukee County — the corridors we cover, where this happens, and how fast a truck reaches you.

Roads & corridors we run in St. Francis

WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive)WIS-794 (John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway)CTH-Y (Layton Avenue)

Where the John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway (WIS-794) drops below grade through St. Francis, breakdowns are frequent — and that same stretch is the main commuter artery, linking the Hoan Bridge and downtown to Mitchell Airport just south, heaviest from 7–9 AM and again from 4–6 PM. WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Avenue, East Howard Avenue and South Lake Drive) and Layton Avenue (CTH-Y) handle the local movement, feeding toward Milwaukee and Cudahy. The city's major surface crossings — East Howard Avenue at Kinnickinnic, Lake Drive and Packard, and East Layton at Pennsylvania and Whitnall — are largely uncontrolled, so watch for right-of-way fender-benders.

Typical response time

12min best
20min typical
30min busy

Live ETA confirmed when you call — St. Francis sits 5 road miles from our yard, and we cover both counties.

Where St. Francis drivers get stuck

WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive)WIS-794 (John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway)CTH-Y (Layton Avenue)

Ice and thaw catch St. Francis drivers on WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive), WIS-794 (John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway), and CTH-Y (Layton Avenue) — ditches, medians, snowbanks, muddy field lots. We winch out across St. Francis Seminary / Seminary Woods, Lakefront (Lake Drive), and Kinnickinnic Avenue corridor, and stuck-but-undamaged usually means you drive away.

Winter ice & lake-effect snow (Nov–Mar) — Lake Drive and the bluff freeze first — after every storm and thaw, St. Francis's ditches, ramps, and unplowed drives fill with stuck cars.

Where we go in St. Francis

St. Francis Seminary / Seminary WoodsLakefront (Lake Drive)Kinnickinnic Avenue corridorLayton Avenue corridorWhitnall Avenue areaSeminary & the lakefrontJohn R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway (WIS-794)Kinnickinnic Avenue (WIS-32) corridorLayton Avenue (CTH-Y) corridorLake Drive (WIS-32)

Near these St. Francis landmarks

St. Francis Seminary (Saint Francis de Sales Seminary)Seminary Woods State Natural AreaFBI Milwaukee Field OfficeSt. Francis City HallBay View ParkGreene ParkSt. Francis Memorial ParkSt. Francis lakefront

St. Francis conditions we plan for

The bluff below St. Francis Seminary is where the lake makes itself felt: dense fog and lake-effect snow settle there and along the lakefront, and shoreline roads can hold cold and ice longer than streets a few blocks inland. Sitting directly on Lake Michigan, the city runs a humid continental pattern — snowy, cold winters; humid, warm summers.

  • Dense lake fog along Lake Drive and the Lake Parkway
  • Freeze-thaw potholes on Kinnickinnic and Layton Avenues
  • Summer thunderstorms and stalled vehicles on the Lake Parkway (WIS-794)

Serving St. Francis ZIP codes: 53235

Sound familiar?

Stuck-vehicle calls we pull across St. Francis.

Front wheels in a ditch

Nose-down off a WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) shoulder after a slide. We set an anchor, run the line, and pull you back up onto the road.

Buried in mud

Axle-deep in a soft St. Francis field or lot after the rain. Traction boards plus the winch get you out without digging in deeper.

Stuck in snow or ice

Slid into a snowbank or can't climb an unplowed St. Francis driveway. We pull you free and back onto traction.

Dug into sand

Spun in on a soft shoulder or sand. We board and winch you out instead of letting the wheels dig deeper.

Down an embankment

Slid down an embankment or off the trail. Light off-road recovery to get you back onto solid ground.

What winch-out covers

Pulled free — not yanked.

A winch-out gets a stuck-but-undamaged vehicle back on solid ground. We rig to rated points, control the pull, and use traction gear — and if it's a job for a flatbed or a specialist crew instead, we'll tell you straight.

What we do
  • +Pull a stuck-but-undamaged vehicle free with a recovery winch
  • +Use a snatch block to redirect or double the line for a bad angle
  • +Rig only to rated recovery points / tow hooks — never bumpers or suspension
  • +Traction boards on mud, snow, and sand so you don't dig in deeper
  • +A flatbed standing by if it won't drive after the pull
Worth knowing
  • !A vehicle in or over water, or down a cliff, is specialist heavy recovery
  • !We won't drag a car on a flat or seized wheel — we flatbed it instead
  • !An overturned or crashed vehicle is accident recovery, quoted separately

Not sure which it is? Tell us what happened on the call — we'll send the right truck the first time so you're not stuck twice.

What it costs

The recovery price — before we hook up.

Most winch-outs in St. Francis run $110–$200 — mud and snow pulls start at $110, a ditch recovery at $150. The price isn’t random — it moves with the surface, how deep you’re stuck, how far we run the winch line, and whether one truck can do it or we need a second. You get the number before we hook up.

most run $110–$200

Covers the dispatch and a standard winch-out from a ditch, mud, or snow. A steep embankment, a heavy 4×4, or a two-truck pull can run higher — always quoted first.

Get your St. Francis price
What changes the price

How deep you're stuck

Axle-deep mud or a steep embankment takes more line, more time, and sometimes more gear than a shallow ditch.

Winch-line distance

A standard recovery reaches about 25 ft off the road. Beyond that — or a snatch-block redirect to a far anchor — a specialist plans the rigging with you on the call first.

Terrain & access

Mud, snow, sand, or a tight WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) shoulder changes the rigging and the time on scene.

One truck or two

A heavy 4×4, a bad angle, or a hard pull may need a second truck — we confirm that on the call first.

On a covered motor-club or insurance plan (AAA, Agero, Urgently, NSD, HONK), we bill the provider directly where supported.

Getting help in St. Francis

From your call to back on the road, in four steps.

1 Call

We answer & locate

A real Milwaukee dispatcher picks up — no menus. Tell us where you are in St. Francis, how you're stuck, and what you drive.

2 Assess

Anchor & rig

On scene, the driver finds your rated recovery points and sets a safe anchor — a snatch block if the angle needs it.

3 Pull

Controlled winch

Steady line, a spotter, traction boards as needed. You're pulled free under control — not yanked.

4 Go

Free & checked

Back on solid ground. We check it's drivable — if it isn't, a flatbed is right there to take it on.

Why St. Francis drivers call MKE

Why St. Francis trusts the pull.

~20 min

Typical arrival

A real ETA based on the closest recovery truck to St. Francis — not a canned promise.

7 days

Answered live

A real Milwaukee dispatcher, 24/7. Never a machine, never voicemail.

Since 2019

Local & trusted

Years of roadside and recovery calls across Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.

5 trucks

Winch, traction & flatbed

A 5-truck fleet means the right rig for the pull — recovery winch, traction gear, and a flatbed if it can't drive after. Licensed & Insured in Wisconsin.

Rated 4.3 / 5 across 373 Google reviews

St. Francis drivers and the wider Milwaukee metro count on MKE Towing & Recovery for fast, fair, no-surprise roadside help. Read what real customers say on Google — or call and find out yourself.

Winch-Out & Recovery in St. Francis

Winch-Out & Recovery in St. Francis, WI — your questions, answered

Typically about 20 minutes — a recovery truck rolls from our South Side yard ~5 miles out to wherever you're stuck: soft ground on the St. Francis Seminary bluff, a plowed-in curb after a lake-effect storm, or a lakefront shoulder. Call (414) 279-5510 24/7.

Most St. Francis winch-outs run $110–$200 — mud and snow pulls start at $110, ditch recoveries at $150 — with the price set before we hook up. It moves with how deep you're stuck and how far we run the line. Stuck but undamaged? You likely drive away. Call (414) 279-5510.

Yes. The St. Francis Seminary bluff and the lakefront streets have soft shoulders and hold fog and ice, and a car off the edge is a common recovery. We rig to rated points, use a snatch block to control the angle, and pull steady. If it can't drive after, a flatbed takes it. Call (414) 279-5510.

Yes. Lakeshore snow packs hard along the bluff and the residential grid, and cars end up high-centered or wedged at plowed-in curbs. We use a recovery winch with soft straps and traction boards, pull under control, and check you're drivable before we leave. Call (414) 279-5510.

No — done right it won't. We rig only to rated recovery points or tow hooks, never the bumper or suspension, use soft straps and a snatch block to control the angle, and pull steady instead of yanking. If it can't drive after, a flatbed takes it on. Call (414) 279-5510.

Dispatching now · St. Francis

Stuck right now in St. Francis? We’ll pull you free.

One call reaches a live dispatcher — an upfront price before we hook up, most winch-outs $110–$200, and a ~20-min typical arrival across St. Francis.

St. Francis winch-out? Call — (414) 279-5510